Why Using A Prepaid Debit Card For Teens Is Brilliant & Printable Chore Chart For Teens

We have been giving the boys an allowance for as long as I can remember. At first we would pay them in cash – except, we never carried cash.

So, that didn’t work.

Then, we tried using a notebook. The boys would keep track of their chores and a tally of the allowance we owed them in a small notebook.

That didn’t work either.

It was about then that we realized, “Why are we driving ourselves crazy? By the time these kids grow up, nobody will be carrying cash. We need to teach them how to responsibly use credit and debit cards.”

Before I tell you how to get a prepaid card for your teen, let me tell you what we based our decision on:

It’s inconvenient to carry cash

The boys lose their cash

Sometimes the boys want to shop online

You can register a prepaid debit card in case it gets lost or stolen

No bank account/credit check is necessary – I looked into getting bank accounts for the boys, and not many banks provide that service

I can have money automatically transferred from my bank account to their cards

The boys can track their spending and balance themselves

They can’t overspend – an important lesson for when they get older and have credit cards

The boys also liked the idea of carrying their own debit card, so the choice to use a prepaid card was an easy one for us.

We logged onto the MasterCard prepaid debit card website and choosing a card was the hardest part about it. You can view how easy it is to get a prepaid debit card over on my Google+ page – I made an album for you! They have some fun cards to choose from:

How Much Money Are You Paying Your Kids?!

In order to use prepaid debit cards with your teen’s allowance, you don’t have to be paying them a boatload of money. My kids have usually received one dollar for each of their years of age after age 6. When Michael was 6, he earned $6/week. Now that he’s 13, he’s earning $13/week. The amount of chores increases as the allowance increases, of course. A prepaid debit card is an excellent way to keep track of the $6 or $14 per week that the kids are paid. And to answer your question… no, we don’t always approve of what they choose to buy. As long as it balances out, though, it’s all good.

What Chores Do Your Kids Do?

Well, everything. We all pitch in around the house. They have routine daily and weekly chores that they are paid for and a chore chart to keep track of what they’ve done. They take care of the animals (2 dogs and a bearded dragon), clean up their areas of the house including their bedrooms and bathroom, clear the dishes after dinner, load them into the dishwasher and more.

You’re welcome to view and copy our chore chart for teens. Please note: File > Save As > Excel to save and edit this chart. I can not open edit settings because I end up having to “fix” it all of the time :)

Sometimes the kids want to ear extra money, and I gladly let them dust my plant ledges for me ;)

Using a prepaid debit card for your teens is a great way to teach responsibility, money management and even organization. It gives your children a head start on their financial life and a safe place to ask questions and even make mistakes. I know many parents choose to not give their children allowances in exchange for chores and that’s ok – it’s right for our family.

Reader Interactions

Comments

I have 4 children ages 15, 14, 13, and 12. I tried ordering the cards but they would only let me order one and it had to be with my info. How did you get one for each of your kids since they are under 18?

What website did you use to purchase the cards initially? I am looking at this now, and one of the sites I am on is asking for a valid id, etc. Does the card have your name on it or your son’s name? Sorry for all the questions, but I’m really trying to set this up before allowance “pay day” this weekend. Great idea!!!!!

Hi. I am having a hard time pulling up your google page. I think it is a GREAT idea and so excited to use it, but when I try to pull up the myplash card web site it doesn’t seem to work. Would you mind telling me if that is card you used or is there a different name? I am having a hard time finding a card that doesn’t have a monthly fee. Thanks so much for any information!

I am looking for one as well that doesn’t have a monthly fee. Wondering if you found one? I love the idea of doing this for my almost 16 and 14 year olds, but don’t really want to pay 10$ monthly fee. Please let me know if you find any other good resources out there or have other suggestions. Thanks!

Thanks for the tips! I’m not sure how old this article is but I clicked on the link to Mastercard’s prepaid debit cards and it took me to a page with a list of different issuers to choose from. I don’t know which one to choose? Your help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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